Proposed bill would allow retired Supreme Court justices to hear cases

September 29, 2010

Washington, D.C.: A new bill, proposed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), would allow retired justices of the Supreme Court of the United States to hear cases in place of a recused sitting justice. Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that this would eliminate a possible 4-4 tie if a judge recuses himself or herself due to a conflict of interest. He also pointed out that retired judges may serve on circuit court of appeals. “Retired Justices may be designated to sit on any court in the land except the one to which they were confirmed... In recent history, Justices have refused to recuse themselves and one of their justifications has been that the Supreme Court is unlike lower courts because no other judge can serve in their place when Justices recuse," Leahy stated. Under the proposed bill, a majority of active justices would vote on whether or not to assign a retired justice to a case. Skeptics however, have wondered if litigants could use the substitution in their favor. Sen. Orrin Hatch also noted that a tie vote could still be a problem since designating a retired justice would still require a majority vote.